1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a notebook binder spacer, in particular, a looseleaf notebook binder spacer which removably attaches to an outer cover of the notebook, and keeps the outer covers evenly spaced in accordance with the width of the notebook's spine.
2. Description of Related Art
Looseleaf notebook binders are a common staple for household and office use. The average person usually has a plurality of different sized notebooks. The problem with most looseleaf notebooks is their inconvenient configuration for storage. As is often the case, the user has an insufficient amount of paper inserted in the looseleaf notebook in order to place the covers in a substantially parallel orientation. As such, stacking the notebooks or placing them on a bookshelf is cumbersome.
The prior art is replete with notebooks that have means for spacing the covers of a looseleaf notebook. Most prior art binder spacers are integral with the looseleaf notebook; However, U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,764, issued Jul. 30, 1985 to Kwei K. Chang shows an adjustable binder spacer which attaches to the inside cover of a looseleaf binder. The '764 device attaches to the inside cover by means of hook and loop material, ball and socket, or other rapid fastening members. The spacer is an inverted V-portion which is adjustable between different spacing positions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,416, issued Mar. 26, 1991 to Russell D. Serzen and U.S. Pat. No. 5,380,111, issued Jan. 10, 1995 to S. John Westrom shows binder spacers with a longitudinal spacer member perpendicularly attached to an inside cover of a looseleaf binder.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,666, issued Jun. 3, 1997 to Dong H. Lee shows a binder with a cover spacer which restrains the covers of a binder. The spacer comprises a first base portion affixed to one of the covers, a stand-off element hingedly attached to the first base portion, and a second base portion affixed to the opposite cover, the second base portion having a clasp or catch arrangement which holds the distal end of the stand-off element.
Whereas the '416, '111, and '666 devices solve the problem of keeping the covers of a looseleaf binder in a substantially parallel orientation, they suffer from the disadvantage of being fixedly attached to the binder. They cannot be used with standard binders that most users invariably have.
Other less relevant patents and applications include: U.S. Pat. No. 281,466, issued Jul. 17, 1883 to Charles A. Davis (untitled "Paper File"); U.S. Pat. No. 501,751, issued Jul. 18, 1893 to Thomas Waring (Paper File); U.S. Pat. No. 1,674,265, issued Jun. 19, 1928 to Fred Roeger (Memorandum-Pad Device); U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,202, issued Feb. 3, 1976 to Peter Brajituli (Ring Binder); U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,804, issued Dec. 7, 1993 to Hans J. Baumgarten (Apparatus And Method For Making A Binder Self-Supporting); U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,971, issued Mar. 21, 1995 to Fikre Ayele (File Cover Restraining System); U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,909, issued Jan. 7, 1997 to Joseph Urban, Richard Roig, and Fikre Ayele (File Cover Restraining System); French Pat. No. 1,171,561, published Jan. 28, 1959 and applied by Daniel Valla; French Pat. No. 1,322,937 applied by Anciens Etablissements Technica S.A.; and U.K. Pat. App. 2,116,481, published Sep. 28, 1983 and applied for by Victor Blunt (Clamping Bar For Paper File).
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.